Ryzen: A Year Later

DuronBurgerMan

[H]ard|Gawd
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Mar 13, 2017
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Back when I built this box, I had some mixed feelings about it. 8 cores on the cheap? That was nice. And I was happy to see AMD not sucking. But some major BIOS update issues and subsequent Intel releases took the bloom off the build.

Recently I took some time to clean my machine of crapware, update software, air out the dustbunnies, grab the new BIOS, update drivers, etc... You know, the annual cleanup. I decided to run a few quick benchmarks to see how things changed in the intervening time.

First off, when I built the machine I was able to run the RAM at 3000 (really 2933 because of some weird multiplier issue with Ryzen motherboards). Subsequent BIOS builds broke that, and I was stuck at 2133 for a while. Eventually, 2666 was reenabled, and then 2800 eventually became possible too. But when I ran the latest BIOS, I was able to get 2933 back. Keep in mind, I'm running 32GB double-sided RAM, so 2933 is pretty good for that.

Also, startup time has reduced from ~25 seconds when I built the machine, to roundabout 12 seconds now. Significant improvement.

Cinebench shows a smallish gain of ~2% in both single core and multi core. Don't know why. Could just be noise.

Overclocking speed is the same. Still stuck at 4GHz. Anything higher runs hot and unstable. But I was able to lower the voltage a hair and run a bit cooler, while still retaining stability.

Games show a significant improvement. Running benchmarks on AotS shows a 20% increase in FPS. Other games aren't nearly as impressive as that, but there were gains in every benchmark I ran, ranging from a few percent to double-digits. How much of that is optimization, and how much is AMD and/or motherboard BIOS/Agesa changes, I couldn't tell you. Some of both, probably.

Compiling is a little quicker. Photoshop is a bit faster. Rendering out of After Effects is more or less unchanged, but still fast (8 cores is nice). The whole machine feels a little fresher and faster. But some of that is undoubtedly due to the removal of accumulated crapware.

Overall, this is a fast machine and I have few complaints now. It did take AMD a while to get this platform really in order, though. The RAM dropping to 2133 way back was irritating as all hell. All good now. Would buy again.
 
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Yes, I feel about the same way with my Ryzen 1700x. I love AMD and was thrilled when they brought another competitive chip to market. Really, it is a solid, well rounded platform. I enjoy it! Looking forward to the next generation.
 
I was very lucky, on launch day i went to microcenter and picked up a Ryzen 1700 + asus B350 prime and its been rock solid from the start. I bought 2x8gb CL15 3000 memory and its been running CL15 at 2933 since launch day. I only thing a bios updated fixed for me, was when i did a cold boot I would get "press F1 to continue - overclocking failed" even though i was stock clocks except custom memory settings. Computer was always stable and fast. In april, i plan to make another chip to microcenter and get Zen+ , zen 2, X470 whatever they are calling it. I spent about an hour overclocking on my Ryzen 1700 and managed a stable 3.650ghz on stock volts and OEM heatsink. 60C while mining 24x7 cryptonight.
 
My 1700 + Asus B350M-A has been rock solid stability wise from day 1 - I pre-ordered on Amazon but didn't get it until a week after launch. Only hiccup was that Ram speed took 3-4 months to get up to the rated 2933 at rated timings, started at 2133 and each bios it would get a little faster. OC wise it will do 3.8 while maxxing out around 75C on the stock Wraith Spire under stress testing, has not hit that under any real world loads. I've been very happy with it, particularly stability wise. I've gone weeks without rebooting, and usually when I do it's due to software installation or driver updates. It's been so good I'm tempted to get a 2700u based laptop.
 
Yep, initial BIOSes were half-baked but every system I've built since last June/July has been great. I haven't built an Intel box in over six months now, except low-end Pentium-based office machines and a couple very niche/specific scientific computing boxes. And the recent Raven Ridge release means no more Intel for low-end office machines.
 
Been pretty happy with my 1700, as well. Finally finished up the kids' machines over the last couple of weeks, each getting a 2400g with 16gb of 3GHz ram. Basically told them that machine is going to last them until they graduate from high school. If they want better gameplay, they can buy a discrete card. My 390 and FuryX are for mining these days. :p

On the flip side, their power supplies are a wee bit over the top, since they were initially bought for having the gpus above in them. 2400g systems with 650-750w power supplies when total power consumption under typical load struggles to break 100w.
 
Love my 1700 workstation. Had some initial issues with the shipping BIOS on the motherboard, but a quick flash fixed those (wouldn't save settings / reboot loops). Haven't had an issue since. I'm running at stock speeds as it's a workstation, not a gaming box, and it chews through video/virtualization and everything else I could want. Zero complaints here.
 
Pre-ordered Ryzen 7 1700 and an Asus Prime B350 Plus mainboard with Corsair DDR4-3000 RAM (there was no such thing as Ryzen-certified RAM at this time, little did I realize what a crapshoot that would be for most people) before launch (I mean, Kyle dared me to do it :)). I've been very happy with the machine.

XMP profile always worked on my RAM (@2933), even with the initial BIOS release and OC is Prime95 12 hr stable @3.8GHz just setting LLC to Extreme. I have adjusted the system a bit since then - moved to m.2 NVME SSD and upgraded the RAM to Corsair DDR4-3200 sticks (these ones explicitly certifited for Ryzen). Old RAM went to my wife for an R5-1600X system on another Asus Prime B350 Plus mainboard (CPU @ stock, RAM @ 2933 XMP).

The only issue I have experienced with this platform is that I can't use the hardware MIDI output on my PCI soundcard (Auzentech Meridian 7.1 with Xtension board, the reason I went with this mainboard - there were only 2 boards available with any PCI slots at the time). It works for about a minute or so and then the computer hard crashes every time with bluescreen 0x00000124. This never happened with the same hardware, OS and drivers on the FX-8320 system this replaced. It's just something I've learned to accept. Whenever I want to mess with my Roland SoundCanvas or MT-32 I have to just use the 486 that is also on my desk :).
 
I've had no problems with Ryzen other than having to wait a month for a motherboard at launch.
 
yup zero complaints with mine as well, haven't had the time to fiddle with overclocking it but being at 3.4Ghz has been more than enough for me so far. the only thing i've learned from this though is that i'll never buy another asrock board even though it saved me 60 dollars, it ended up not being worth it in the long run.
 
Smooth sailing for me. firmware options were somewhat disappointing (which I should have expected for what amounted to a midrange board), and I can only manage 3.7-3.8 stable, but it's good enough for me. Always was able to get 2933cl15 at least, and 3200cl16-18-18 was doable but not 100% stable on my Hynix m-die. Right now I have it set to 104bclk and 2933, for effectively 3050 ddr speeds, with cpu at 3.7GHz and mildly undervolted.
 
Outside of the ram BS, I've had no issues with my 1700x system running at 4.1ghz for the last year. I'm incredibly happy with it. Would definitely buy again.
 
Outside of the ram BS, I've had no issues with my 1700x system running at 4.1ghz for the last year. I'm incredibly happy with it. Would definitely buy again.

Impressive on the 4.1GHz OC. I've never been able to get stability at 4.1 It'll boot, but unstable and too hot. Of course, I'm running on air cooling - so that may be why. Still, nice job!
 
Pre-ordered Ryzen 7 1700 and an Asus Prime B350 Plus mainboard with Corsair DDR4-3000 RAM (there was no such thing as Ryzen-certified RAM at this time, little did I realize what a crapshoot that would be for most people) before launch (I mean, Kyle dared me to do it :)). I've been very happy with the machine.

XMP profile always worked on my RAM (@2933), even with the initial BIOS release and OC is Prime95 12 hr stable @3.8GHz just setting LLC to Extreme. I have adjusted the system a bit since then - moved to m.2 NVME SSD and upgraded the RAM to Corsair DDR4-3200 sticks (these ones explicitly certifited for Ryzen). Old RAM went to my wife for an R5-1600X system on another Asus Prime B350 Plus mainboard (CPU @ stock, RAM @ 2933 XMP).

The only issue I have experienced with this platform is that I can't use the hardware MIDI output on my PCI soundcard (Auzentech Meridian 7.1 with Xtension board, the reason I went with this mainboard - there were only 2 boards available with any PCI slots at the time). It works for about a minute or so and then the computer hard crashes every time with bluescreen 0x00000124. This never happened with the same hardware, OS and drivers on the FX-8320 system this replaced. It's just something I've learned to accept. Whenever I want to mess with my Roland SoundCanvas or MT-32 I have to just use the 486 that is also on my desk :).

I feel your pain on the Auzentech board. I had to sacrifice mine in this build, too. Those were good boards - a pity they are out of business.
 
As one of the people who looked on when you built your box I'm glad that you've had good results with it. My fears of the platform not being stable enough at release were put to rest (yes, there were issues, but not work-stoppage ones).
 
Impressive on the 4.1GHz OC. I've never been able to get stability at 4.1 It'll boot, but unstable and too hot. Of course, I'm running on air cooling - so that may be why. Still, nice job!

You can get it to boot at impressive speeds with enough voltage and good water cooling.

In all seriousness though, silicone lottery on this one. 4.1ghz @ 1.4v I think. I spent a lot of time trying to get it under 1.4, but the temps are fine, so whatever.
 
Outside of the ram BS, I've had no issues with my 1700x system running at 4.1ghz for the last year. I'm incredibly happy with it. Would definitely buy again.

That is one epic silicon lottery win if its truly stable at that speed. My 1600 hits a wall at 3.85ghz 1.38 idle volts and about 1.35 on load. At 3.9 it can barely pass Cinebench if I put a lot of volts through it but Prime95 is an instant crash no matter how many volts I pump through it. 4ghz is out of the question, Cinebench is an instant crash even if I bump volts over 1.45v and max out the LLC.
 
My recent Ryzen story:

I was using an Intel 4790k / z97 platform up until the end of last year. This was still serving me very well, but I wanted to start running some VMs again and the upgrade itch was massive by this point.. My intention was to grab a cheap Retail Edge 8700k as my next upgrade path, but due to shortages, it was limited to only the most elite (Legend status) on the promotion. I had a hunch they would do this but I was still disappointed.

Fast forward to Jan. 25th, staff Christmas party: While half in the bag and grabbing another beer from the open bar, my name gets called on a big draw. I'm now the proud owner of an 1800X.
It was almost a "sign" if you will. I lined up a buyer for my old parts and only paid about $90 for the switch over (Jesus, DDR4 prices!).

Running stock on the 1800x with 3000mhz RAM. All cores by default will turbo to 3.8-3.9 depending on task (which I found somewhat odd but temps and voltage is still very low). This is a good thing!
Overall, games are just as smooth (which is exactly what I wanted since my game performance was excellent before) but where I notice it most is simply not having to close ANYTHING down. I record / mix music as a side thing so being able to switch seamlessly from a VM, to a game, then back to Studio One (mixing suite) with 25+ tracks and various Fx plugins is simply outstanding. In addition, I usually run 14-20 browser tabs at any given time as well as a dozen varied applications (game launchers, system monitoring, surveillance software, media apps). This I could not do on the I7 4790k.

As far as the build itself, I was expecting a snag or bump somewhere as I've read about some AMD growing pains (normal for new architecture) but it never happened. In fact, I'd say this was the smoothest build i've ever done. Parts swapped, BIOS updated, locked in DOCP and haven't looked back.

I am exceptionally pleased.

Edit: Game at 1080p 60hz. Will usually run unlocked framerate in online shooters and risk minor tearing. Smooth gameplay is key.
 
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Y
My recent Ryzen story:

Edit: Game at 1080p 60hz. Will usually run unlocked framerate in online shooters and risk minor tearing. Smooth gameplay is key.

You need to treat yourself to a 144hz monitor. I just picked up an HP omen 32" 2560x1440 75hz and even overclocked to 85hz it drives me nuts. If you play FPS games its a big deal.
 
1600 running 3.7 GHz comfortably on 1.1875 (that's an undervolt!). I have all the parts to swap in a Hyper212, but the stock HSF has been working so well I can't be bothered to open the system up. Can't stably get my TridentZ 16-18-18 3200 to clock higher the 2933, but pretty sure there's marginal benefit from the last clock jump. ASRock AB350M mATX
 
Y


You need to treat yourself to a 144hz monitor. I just picked up an HP omen 32" 2560x1440 75hz and even overclocked to 85hz it drives me nuts. If you play FPS games its a big deal.

More RAM is next on the list as I am reaching the limits of 16GB at times. Not hitting the page file yet, but it's close.

Monitor eventually :D
 
Pre-ordered Ryzen 7 1700 and an Asus Prime B350 Plus mainboard with Corsair DDR4-3000 RAM (there was no such thing as Ryzen-certified RAM at this time, little did I realize what a crapshoot that would be for most people) before launch (I mean, Kyle dared me to do it :)). I've been very happy with the machine.

XMP profile always worked on my RAM (@2933), even with the initial BIOS release and OC is Prime95 12 hr stable @3.8GHz just setting LLC to Extreme. I have adjusted the system a bit since then - moved to m.2 NVME SSD and upgraded the RAM to Corsair DDR4-3200 sticks (these ones explicitly certifited for Ryzen). Old RAM went to my wife for an R5-1600X system on another Asus Prime B350 Plus mainboard (CPU @ stock, RAM @ 2933 XMP).

The only issue I have experienced with this platform is that I can't use the hardware MIDI output on my PCI soundcard (Auzentech Meridian 7.1 with Xtension board, the reason I went with this mainboard - there were only 2 boards available with any PCI slots at the time). It works for about a minute or so and then the computer hard crashes every time with bluescreen 0x00000124. This never happened with the same hardware, OS and drivers on the FX-8320 system this replaced. It's just something I've learned to accept. Whenever I want to mess with my Roland SoundCanvas or MT-32 I have to just use the 486 that is also on my desk :).

Clint, is that you? LOL
 
Y


You need to treat yourself to a 144hz monitor. I just picked up an HP omen 32" 2560x1440 75hz and even overclocked to 85hz it drives me nuts. If you play FPS games its a big deal.

Yup.... I was one of the detractors of 144 Hz thinking it wouldn't make that big a difference. I could never go back now. My kid's monitor is 60 Hz and when I get on it, it feels like I'm on dial up internet or something. 1080 at 144 Hz is a pretty sweet spot. Doesn't require a ton of GPU muscle to utilize it (which is good considering the $1000+ GPU prices these days) and at 27" and below, still looks really good.
 
Traded my 7700k setup for a Ryzen 1700.. as noted before, I can do more things and still have smooth performance .. using vidcoder to re-encode videos is faster now .. don't feel any different with 1080p gaming (not much of a pc gamer anymore though).. my only continued gripe is my DDR4-3000 Team Group (2 x 16GB) memory still cant run it's rated speed that it ran fine on my ex-Intel platform .. Asus Prime B350 with latest Beta-BIOS (3805). A few BIOS renditions ago, It finally booted up into windows, but run memtest and it crashes. Odd things get glitchy after a bit with normal usage at 2933.

Other then that, I am another happy AMD camper. ;)
 
Traded my 7700k setup for a Ryzen 1700.. as noted before, I can do more things and still have smooth performance .. using vidcoder to re-encode videos is faster now .. don't feel any different with 1080p gaming (not much of a pc gamer anymore though).. my only continued gripe is my DDR4-3000 Team Group (2 x 16GB) memory still cant run it's rated speed that it ran fine on my ex-Intel platform .. Asus Prime B350 with latest Beta-BIOS (3805). A few BIOS renditions ago, It finally booted up into windows, but run memtest and it crashes. Odd things get glitchy after a bit with normal usage at 2933.

Other then that, I am another happy AMD camper. ;)

There having a lot of problems with memory compatibility and profiles etc. Should of kept it...no way would trade it, still faster per core, and comes alive with some clocks, you just seen some benefit of the better multithreading.
 
I'm a happy camper...
There having a lot of problems with memory compatibility and profiles etc. Should of kept it...no way would trade it, still faster per core, and comes alive with some clocks, you just seen some benefit of the better multithreading.
...huh? Maybe I'm not so happy after all...no, I still am.
 
..umm ...that's why I traded? :cautious:

Because you could of done a massive clock on that chip and it annilates Ryzen pretty much. It will destroy the 1800x in some stuff. and undervolter too....this one might could run forever or something at 1.23v at 4.8gh...golden.
 
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Because you could of done a massive clock on that chip and it annilates Ryzen pretty much. It will destroy the 1800x in some stuff. and undervolter too....this one might could run forever or something at 1.23v at 4.8gh...golden.

lol noob
 
There having a lot of problems with memory compatibility and profiles etc. Should of kept it...no way would trade it, still faster per core, and comes alive with some clocks, you just seen some benefit of the better multithreading.

The memory problems have been resolved for a while now. Make sure you check the QVL and you'll have no problem. I built (refreshed) my rig back in December and it fired off without a hitch as soon as I fired it up and has purred like a kitten ever since.
 
I have an 7820x and a 8600 and I'm gonna get a Zen plus I think. Probably sell the 8600k. Bit that depends on IPC gains.

I've had a 1700x and 1950x. Sold both.
 
Still on a 4930k, but if next gen AMD can clock above 4 ghz, it will be my next buy. Well, after RAM and GPU prices stabilize, which might be the gen afterwards at this rate.
 
Still on a 4930k, but if next gen AMD can clock above 4 ghz, it will be my next buy. Well, after RAM and GPU prices stabilize, which might be the gen afterwards at this rate.
So your going to wait another indefinite no of yrs to buy because of ram? With the impending trade war with China it would be behooving to buy sooner
 
So your going to wait another indefinite no of yrs to buy because of ram? With the impending trade war with China it would be behooving to buy sooner

Pretty much, as I don't feel a need to upgrade my system at the moment. Pretty much the only games I'm playing right now are World of Warships and Closers, neither of which are system intensive, and I'm not doing anything like rendering either. The only issue I have at the moment is occasionally my SSD pegs out at 100% usage, rendering the system almost unusable for a few minutes. Unsure of whether this is an SSD issue or motherboard issue. Did a clean install a few months back and it didn't help the 100% usage, but then it went away for a few months, and only recently resurfaced. That, and the fact that I think my GPU is on its way out, but it's been relatively stable for now. Which leads me to think I might have a motherboard issue more than anything else.
 
Pretty much, as I don't feel a need to upgrade my system at the moment. Pretty much the only games I'm playing right now are World of Warships and Closers, neither of which are system intensive, and I'm not doing anything like rendering either. The only issue I have at the moment is occasionally my SSD pegs out at 100% usage, rendering the system almost unusable for a few minutes. Unsure of whether this is an SSD issue or motherboard issue. Did a clean install a few months back and it didn't help the 100% usage, but then it went away for a few months, and only recently resurfaced. That, and the fact that I think my GPU is on its way out, but it's been relatively stable for now. Which leads me to think I might have a motherboard issue more than anything else.

Have you trimmed that solid state drive? Also run a smart test and see if it has any failures being reported
 
Bought a 1700 and Asus prime pro (x370) shortly after launch. Did overclock to 3850-3900 (on low voltage) for a while but realised I didn’t need the speed, so dropped back to stock, with stock heatsink.

Zero regrets, has been stable as a rock, and zippy as anything. Don’t need more
 
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